Prost! 4 classic cocktails get a Luxembourg twist
Top with a generous dollop of glutinous kachkéis for extra creaminess and weight. Why not jazz it up by serving it to your mouth with a decorative ladle?
If there’s one thing we in Luxembourg love it is overpriced drinks. Nothing screams burning money quite like a cocktail! And if you want yours with local ingredients, beloved Luxembourg chef Léa Sphincter has got you covered. Here she gives four fond cocktail faves a Luxembourg twist.
White Russian made with Kachkéis
The Big Lebowski breathed new life into the White Russian, a cocktail that was previously considered a drink on the brink of extinction. Sphincter has this unique take on the White Russian, that is guaranteed to put the claggy into cocktail!
Ingredients:
2 ounces vodka
1 ounce Kahlúa
1 ounce Kachkéis
Instructions:
Add the vodka and Kahlúa to a rocks glass filled with ice. Top with a generous dollop of glutinous kachkéis for extra creaminess and weight. Why not jazz it up by serving it to your mouth with a decorative ladle? Your friends and colleagues will be desperate to invade your cookbook and discover the secret ingredient that makes your White Russian so special! Prost!
Aperol Spritz with endives
Sometimes cocktails can be a little on the sweet side, unless you opt for an Aperol Spritz, which are a lot like Sphincter: bubbly, orange and bitter! Why not take the bitterness up to 11 by adding a dash of disgusting endives?
Ingredients:
3 parts Crémant
2 parts Aperol
1 part soda water
1 endive head (keep a few leaves for garnish)
Instructions:
Chop the endive. Melt a knob of butter in a saucepan and then cook the endive until it caramelises. Chuck the sloppy mess into the blender and blend for a minute. Strain the resulting gunk and pour the liquid into a tall glass. Top up with sparkling wine, Aperol and soda water. Serve with more ice cubes than any human could ever want. Add a straw. Prost!
A similar bitter kick can be achieved by substituting the endive for Brussels Sprouts!
Espresso martini with puréed bouchée à la reine
This classic coffee-based cocktail is an easy one to get past those party-poopers who think that 9am is too early to be on the sauce. Idiots! It’s 5 o’clock somewhere! And with Sphincter’s yummy Luxembourg twist, it’s a meal and a drink in one!
Ingredients:
Ice
100ml Vodka
50ml Freshly brewed espresso coffee
50ml Kahlua
Tablespoon of syrup
1 bouchée à la reine
Instructions:
Pop the pastry vol au vent and creamy chicken and mushroom filling of your bouchée à la reine in the blender and pulse until it reaches a smooth, creamy texture. Pour the mixture into a cocktail shaker with the other ingredients and shake it like you’re Tom Cruise (think the cheesy 1980s movie Cocktail) with Parkinsons.
Serve in a Martini glass if you’re not at work. If at work, you might want to be more discrete with your choice of receptacle and serve it in a bucket. Prost!
Dizzy mezcal with fried fish
Dizzy mezcal is a delicious palette cleanser thanks to its cool combination of cucumber and lemon. And you know what goes well with lemon? Fish of course! Pop some friture de la moselle on the side of your glass for a great pairing!
Ingredients:
15ml lemon juice
2.5 cm piece of cucumber
15 ml of agave syrup
10 ml absinthe
40 ml mezcal
Ice
A handful of small fried Moselle fish
Instructions:
Blend the cucumber, lemon juice, agave and absinthe for a minute, then pour the mixture into a cocktail shaker. Add the mezcal, fill the shaker with ice and give it a good shake. Strain the liquid into a martini glass. Garnish with one or five deep fried fish from the Moselle. We can’t understand why you don’t find fish in more cocktails! Prost!
